


In Memoriam

by Sintharius



Series: Reaper76 Week 2017 [1]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Dreams and Nightmares, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-15
Updated: 2017-01-15
Packaged: 2018-09-17 18:36:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9337838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sintharius/pseuds/Sintharius
Summary: Sleep is not peaceful to Soldier: 76.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for day 1 of Reaper76 Week: “How We Were” (History/Decay)
> 
> Sequel to [I Am Here (For You)](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8295290).
> 
> Might fix it later when I’m not out of my mind with exams – no promises though!

Jack feels the moment a pair of soft lips touches his forehead.

It was only when he blinked awake that he realizes three things:

One: He was asleep in the Blackwatch Commander’s quarters. Gabriel’s room.

Two: He was wearing one of Gabriel’s hoodie.

Three: Said owner of the hoodie is smiling at Jack.

Gabriel is still in full armor – he must have gone straight to Jack when he realizes the Strike Commander is sleeping in his bed, and hasn’t taken the time to change into casual clothes.

A large gloved hand cards through blond hair, mussed up from sleep. Jack was pretty sure his hair looked like a bird’s nest right now, but Gabriel does not seem to care. A comfortable silence settled over the two, and Jack finds himself enjoying it.

Eventually Jack decides to break the silence first, comfortable as it might be – he needs to know if Gabriel is okay.

“How was the mission?”

“Mission was a success, nobody got hurt. Satisfied?”

“I’m glad everyone is okay… Especially you Gabe.”

“You’re so sappy Morrison.”

“Pot, meet kettle.”

Despite his faux-irritated tone, Gabriel’s brown eyes are warm with love and affection. Jack feels like he could drown in those eyes for eternity.

“Join me?”

“Let me change first. I’m sure you wouldn’t want dirt on your fresh sheets.” Gabriel rises to his feet before padding into the attached bathroom – being the Blackwatch Commander has its perks.

“Be quick about it, I could use a warm body right about now!”

Jack smiles at Gabriel’s response, muffled by the sound of running water. He burrows back into the blankets and closes his eyes.

Minutes ticked by as he dozed. At the moment the shower stops, Jack cracks an eye open in the direction of the bathroom – if he’s lucky, Gabriel would ‘forget’ to bring clothes into the shower again and Jack would be treated to the sight of a very naked Gabriel. He thinks Gabe is doing that on purpose just to tease him… after all, the eye candy show has turned into passionate lovemaking more than once.

“Gabriel? Are you there?”

Nothing. No footsteps, no running water, no sound at all. The silence was deafening.

Jack attempts to sit up, only to come face to face with a pair of ruby red eyes, set into a face of rotten flesh. Black smoke billows from the gray skin hidden under a black hood. Talons gleam in the faint light of the bedroom.

Reaper bares his too-sharp teeth at Jack, before lunging at the soldier.

“Gabriel!”

***

Soldier: 76 bolted upright in his bed.

It was only a dream.

A glance at the visor on the nightstand told him it was two in the morning.

Jack rubs his face in exhaustion. Most of the time sleeping leads to nightmares, vicious fragments of traumatic memories that he has no control over as his subconscious played them in vivid details. It started in his SEP days, after the enhancements improved their memory capabilities to the point that it was near eidetic. Great in his waking hours, terrible in his sleeping ones.

He remembers Gabriel comforting him when he woke up from a nightmare, sweating and heart racing. Sleep becomes much less of a chore when he was with the other man, Gabriel’s presence keeping dark thoughts away from his head.

_It’s alright, I’m here. You are safe._

Any peace of mind Jack had had vanished when Gabriel left.

After their breakup, the nightmares started up again. But the fallout and explosion at the Swiss headquarters was the final nail in the coffin. Now he could not sleep for eight hours straight without waking - the weariness and exhaustion from lack of quality sleep has been a constant companion ever since he put on the visor and became Soldier: 76.

The dream with Gabriel was certainly new, and it stirred up old feelings he though dead and buried in his broken heart. A reminder of what he used to have… Jack firmly shoved them into the back of his mind. Gabriel is gone. Old feelings have no place for the life he now leads.

He lies down on the bed and closes his eyes. Might as well try to get some more sleep, since he has nothing better to do before sunrise.

Wisps of the memory with Gabriel followed him into his dream.

***

A shadow drifted over the soldier, restless even in sleep. Sharp talons gently combed through snow white hair. A whisper of a dead ghost come alive.

_Sleep well, my sunshine._

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if anything needs fixing - English is not my first language.
> 
> Come visit me on [Tumblr!](www.sintharius.tumblr.com)


End file.
